The spy Ana Belén Montes, 65, arrested in 2001 for providing classified information from the United States to the Cuban regime, will be released on Sunday (8), after more than two decades in detention, according to documents from the US prison agency released on Tuesday. .
Montes, who is imprisoned in Fort Worth, Texas, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for the crime of conspiracy, but will serve the remainder of the sentence on parole. According to investigations, she used her position as an analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to access all kinds of classified information and transmit it to the regime of Cuban leader Fidel Castro (1926-2016).
The crimes took place from August 1992 to September 2001. Born in Germany and also an American, Montes was working at the Department of Justice in Washington in 1984 when she came to the attention of Cuban agents after expressing dissatisfaction with US policy regarding the Central America.
At the time, the region was a priority for the government of the American Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) who, during the Cold War, sought to contain what he called the “communist threat” and supported opponents of left-wing governments, such as the “contras”, groups armed men who fought against the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
Montes reportedly agreed to work for the Cuban regime and, to fulfill her mission, got a position at the DIA in 1985. In order not to arouse suspicion, the spy never took any work documents home with her, but memorized details and transmitted information encrypted in software provided by Cuba.
Montes was reported by a co-worker in 1996, but US authorities did not open an investigation into the case until four years later. She was arrested on September 21, 2001, ten days after 9/11, which heightened Washington’s national security concerns. In 2002, she was sentenced to 25 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to the crimes.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
